Scottish Executive

Animal Welfare

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence it has of badger baiting teams operating in the south of Scotland; whether there has been any increase in badger baiting over the last 10 years and, if so, whether there is any evidence to suggest that the existing legislative powers are inadequate to tackle this issue; what plans it has to introduce new legislation on badger baiting and, in the meantime, whether it will issue guidance to police forces, procurators fiscal and any other agencies to ensure that all incidents of badger baiting are investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive has no evidence to suggest that badger baiting teams are operating in the south of Scotland, nor have they received information about any increases in this type of activity occurring in Scotland over the last 10 years.

  Scottish ministers are firmly committed to ensuring that Scotland's natural heritage - including badgers - is properly protected. The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 is widely regarded as an effective method of dealing with crimes against these animals. It allows the courts to impose a custodial sentence of up to six months or a fine of up to £5,000. There are no plans to introduce changes in legislation to amend this act.

  The Chief Constables of Scotland's Police Forces are responsible for operational matters affecting their forces and determine how criminal investigations are conducted. The Crown Office already issues guidance to procurators fiscal on various statutory offences, including the legislation relevant to badgers.

Crown Estates

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on gathering information on the Crown Estate’s production tax on salmon farming and on any equivalent taxes faced by salmon farmers’ overseas competitors and when these matters will be considered by its Working Group on Aquaculture.

Allan Wilson: Industry representatives on the working group have drawn attention to the effect that the Crown Estate's seabed lease charges have on the industry's overall competitiveness. My officials have also contacted the relevant authorities in competitor countries to establish the details of any similar arrangements which may exist. When this information is made available it will be conveyed to the working group for their consideration.

Europe

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what regular bulletins or reports are compiled by its officials in Scotland House, Brussels, for submission to its departments and what discussions it has had with the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body on whether any such bulletins or reports should be made available to members as a matter of course.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive EU Office provides Scottish Executive Departments and ministers with regular information about the EU agenda in a wide variety of forms. There have been no discussions with the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body on providing this information to members.

Europe

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in the dispersal of any European agencies to Scotland and what the timetable is for necessary decisions being taken.

Mr Jim Wallace: The siting of EU agencies is reserved and a matter for the UK Government. The Executive is in regular contact with Her Majesty's Government Departments about a variety of EU issues including the siting of EU agencies. The decision on sites and the timetable for decisions are ultimately matters for the EU Heads of State and Government.

Europe

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its European Union Office has been involved in efforts to disperse any European agencies to Scotland and, if so, what representations the office has made and to whom.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive EU Office is involved in a wide range of EU matters including efforts to disperse any European agencies to Scotland. However, the UK position in relation to siting of EU agencies is a reserved matter and decisions on representation on this issue are ultimately a matter for the UK Government.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why the Minister for Environment and Rural Development was not listed as an attendee of the most recent meeting of the EU Fisheries Council.

Ross Finnie: The Council Secretariat’s formal minutes do not include the names of those attending. The Council Secretariat’s press release is clearly at fault.

Gaelic

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will seek parliamentary time to debate the recommendations of the Ministerial Advisory Group on Gaelic, as recommended in A Fresh Start for Gaelic .

Mike Watson: I have no plans at present to seek parliamentary time to debate the recommendations of the Ministerial Advisory Group on Gaelic.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are no long-term risks to children from increased prescribing of Ritalin.

Malcolm Chisholm: As with all medicines, the safety of Ritalin is continually monitored by the Medicines Control Agency and the Committee on Safety of Medicines, an independent expert advisory body.

  The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) Guideline 52 on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder provides clinicians with advice about possible drug side-effects and management options to deal with them. The SIGN Guideline can be accessed on their website at: www.sign.ac.uk.

Nursing

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans the Information and Statistics Division of the Common Services Agency has to collect and publish more information on the use of specialist nurses within the NHS.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29329 on 27 September 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at::

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

  Full results of the Audit Scotland/ISD survey will be available later this year. In addition, proposals are being developed for implementation by NHSScotland for the collection of information on nurse-led activity. It is too soon to say when the first results from this new information collection will become available.

Post Office

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-23640 by Allan Wilson on 15 March 2002, what progress has been made towards delivery of online public services through post offices and sub-post offices and whether they have now been excluded from plans for the delivery of Your Guide.

Allan Wilson: Responsibility for the Post Office and Post Office services is a reserved matter.

  A decision not to roll out Your Guide nationally was announced by DTI Ministers on 15 October. The decision was taken largely on value for money grounds, following the evaluation of a major pilot.

  Officials will continue to stay in close contact with DTI and Post Office efforts to identify the potential for government departments to deliver services through post offices in future.

  The Executive's public internet access point initiative is creating over 1,000 new venues across Scotland where people can have cheap, easy access to the web and all its services - public, commercial and voluntary sector. We are actively encouraging rural post offices to participate in the scheme - which provides eligible venues with computer hardware, software, and internet connectivity - all free of charge. The scheme therefore allows rural post offices to provide another valuable service to their customers and potentially another source of income for small post offices.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many 14- to 16-year-olds have been held in adult prisons in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02 and (d) 2002-03 to date.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  There are four possible ways to count the numbers of 14- to 16-year-olds held in penal establishments. The convention used in the prison statistics bulletins is to present the number of receptions to penal establishments. The number of receptions of 14- to 16-year-olds is given in Table 1 below.

  Table 1: Receptions of 14- to 16-Year-Olds to Penal Establishments1 by Age, 1999-2000 to 1 April 2002 - 23 October 2002

  


Age 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  

2001-02 (prov.) 
  

1 April 2002 to 23 October 2002 (provisional) 
  



14 
  

1 
  

4 
  

2 
  

1 
  



15 
  

9 
  

12 
  

25 
  

18 
  



16 
  

573 
  

391 
  

467 
  

395 
  



Total 
  

583 
  

407 
  

494 
  

414 
  



  Note:

  1. Including Young Offenders Institutions.

  An offender experiencing a continuous period of imprisonment could be the subject of more than one reception during that time. For example, they may first be received on remand and may then continue in prison as a sentenced prisoner, which would be counted as an additional reception. Table 2 below presents the numbers of times a 14- to 16-year-old commenced an uninterrupted period of imprisonment.

  Table 2: Number of 14- to 16-Year-Olds1 Commencing a Continuous Period in Custody2, 1999-2000 to 1 April 2002 - 23 October 2002

  


Age 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  

2001-02
(prov.) 
  

1 April 2002 to 23 October 2002
(provisional) 
  



14 
  

1 
  

4 
  

2 
  

1 
  



15 
  

7 
  

11 
  

23 
  

18 
  



16 
  

383 
  

266 
  

337 
  

274 
  



Total 
  

391 
  

281 
  

362 
  

293 
  



  Notes:

  1. 14- to 16-year-olds entering prison more than once in a financial year have been counted for each entry.

  2. The figures include those entering Young Offenders Institutions.

  It may happen that an offender is released from a period in custody and is re-imprisoned within the year for a different offence. Table 3 below presents the numbers of individuals aged 14 to16 who were imprisoned at least once during each year.

  Table 3: Number of Individual 14- to 16-Year-Olds Who Were Imprisoned at Least Once in the Financial Year

  


Age at first entry in year 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  

2001-02
(prov.) 
  

1 April 2002 to 23 October 2002
(provisional) 
  



14 
  

1 
  

4 
  

2 
  

1 
  



15 
  

7 
  

12 
  

20 
  

17 
  



16 
  

290 
  

193 
  

221 
  

201 
  



Total 
  

298 
  

209 
  

243 
  

219 
  



  Because 14- to 16-year-old offenders spend only relatively short times in custody, the number in custody at any one time is much lower than the numbers entering custody, as demonstrated in Table 4 below

  Table 4: Numbers of 14- to 16-Year-Olds in Custody on 30 June

  


Age 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  

2002 (prov.) 
  



14 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



15 
  

- 
  

1 
  

- 
  

2 
  



16 
  

53 
  

32 
  

42 
  

56 
  



Total 
  

53 
  

33 
  

42 
  

58 
  



  The above information covers 14- to 16-year-olds who entered any penal establishment, including Young Offenders Institutions. Information distinguishing young offenders who were in an adult prison from those in a Young Offenders Institution cannot meaningfully be supplied. This is because many young offenders will pass through an adult prison on their way to reception in a Young Offenders Institution or may be transferred to a Young Offenders Institution after reception in an adult prison. Table 5 presents a breakdown of the number of receptions of 14- to-16-year-olds by the receiving establishment while Table 6 shows a breakdown of the first establishment entered by 14- to 16-year-old offenders commencing a continuous period in custody. Copies of Table 5 and Table 6 have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 24884 ).

Road Signs

Kay Ullrich (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the specific powers under each piece of legislation that currently hold local authorities responsible for the maintenance and/or alteration in any way of signage erected alongside trunk roads.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive, not the local authorities, is responsible for the provision and maintenance of signs on the trunk road network. However, it is the policy and practice of Scottish ministers that it is for local authorities to take a view on whether an alteration to a trunk road sign is required to reflect local needs. Such changes would then require to be submitted by the local authority to the Scottish Executive for approval.

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the £10 million allocated to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in the spending review 2002 will be used for.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has been allocated additional resources of £11.2 million over the next three years under Spending Review 2002. The new allocations will allow SEPA to extend the implementation of the National Waste Strategy to include non-municipal waste, undertake additional waste data collection, regulate the treatment and disposal of agricultural waste, develop and implement the Water Environment and Water Services Bill, carry out additional monitoring of shellfish waters and bathing waters, develop an online pollution emissions inventory and implement new statutory controls aimed at enhancing and protecting Scotland’s environment.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the full costs were of printing, publishing and distributing its Closing the Opportunity Gap: Scottish Budget for 2003-06 .

Ms Margaret Curran: The publication and printing of Closing the Opportunity Gap: Scottish Budget for 2003-06 has to date cost £1,078.33. In addition the costs of distribution currently stand at £317.

Visually Impaired People

Kate Maclean (Dundee West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children there are with significant visual impairment affecting their developmental and educational progress.

Cathy Jamieson: The results of the September 2001 School Census showed that there were 130 pupils with a Record of Needs in publicly funded primary schools whose main difficulty in learning was a visual impairment. The figure for secondary schools was also 130. There were 169 pupils based in publicly funded special schools whose main difficulty in learning was a visual impairment.

Visually Impaired People

Kate Maclean (Dundee West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans services for children who have significant visual impairment in the light of any evidence that Visual Impairment Scotland has that the blind and partial-sight registration system does not effectively achieve its intended functions for children with visual impairment, their parents and the professionals that care for them.

Cathy Jamieson: Following publication of the report of the Certification and Registration Working Group, a group has been set up by the Executive to take forward one of the report’s recommendations: to review the content, format and usage of form BP1: Certification of Blindness and or Defective Vision. To date the group has met on two occasions.

Visually Impaired People

Kate Maclean (Dundee West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how accurate information on the number and characteristics of children with visual impairment will be acquired if it ceases to fund Visual Impairment Scotland.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive will continue to collect and publish figures on registered blind and partially sighted persons, including children.

  The main difficulty in learning of pupils in Scottish primary, secondary and special schools is collected annually through the school census. This is collected for pupils with a Record of Needs in primary and secondary schools, and for all pupils based in special schools. Visual impairments is one category of learning difficulty.

Visually Impaired People

Kate Maclean (Dundee West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on how children with a visual impairment and their families will be supported if it ceases to fund Visual Impairment Scotland.

Cathy Jamieson: The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 requires local authorities to provide and publicise a range and level of services appropriate to the needs of children with disabilities in their area. Children with disabilities are entitled to an assessment of need and the local authority is required to provide a range of services to meet the identified needs of that group of children identified as being in need. It is the responsibility of the local authorities to determine how they manage their services to ensure they meet their statutory requirements. In addition, the Scottish Executive provides funding to a range of voluntary organisations delivering information and services to families with children with disabilities, including the Family Fund Trust, Capability Scotland, Contact a Family and SENSE Scotland.

Visually Impaired People

Kate Maclean (Dundee West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive why long-term funding for Visual Impairment Scotland has not been confirmed, given the Executive's aim of developing joined-up working across health, social and education services.

Cathy Jamieson: The Executive provided pump-priming funding for Visual Impairment Scotland through its three-year Innovation Fund grant scheme for developing innovative and integrated approaches to child health, on the basis that NHS boards would continue funding successfully evaluated projects at the end of the grant funding period. The Executive is encouraging further development of integrated children's services through implementation of the action team's recommendations in For Scotland's Children for which funding has been made available through the Changing Children's Services Fund, distributed through local authorities. Local authorities, NHS boards and the relevant voluntary sector representatives determine how this funding should be deployed.

  The Joint Future agenda is demonstrating how local partners in health, social work and housing can come together to jointly prioritise, resource and manage services. We expect that this new approach will have wider application in other partnership activities where such a holistic approach is needed.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Europe

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer what research the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) has carried out into the establishment of a parliamentary office in Brussels to represent the Parliament independently of the Scottish Executive.

Sir David Steel: The European Committee is at present conducting a short Inquiry to consider the role for, and activities of, the various bodies representing Scotland in Brussels. These bodies include parliamentary representation, government representation, commercial groups, trade bodies, and non-governmental organisations. The SPCB therefore awaits their report.

Parliamentary Visits

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer why the seating provision in the public gallery of the chamber in the new Parliament building will not be at least 250 as stated in press release no. 026/2000 issued on 2 June 2000; on what date approval was given to reduce the total number of seats below 250, and whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will provide a full explanation of why this decision was taken.

Sir David Steel: The total number of seats is not below 250. Seating provision for the press and public in the Holyrood Chamber, including that for disabled visitors, will total 277.